The 2016-17 PBA Philippine Cup is already in the books and here comes the 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup that will feature big but usually flashy imports.
During this conference which will start on March 17, each team is allowed to hire a foreign player with a height limit of 6’10.
Below is the list of 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup imports along with its designated team.
| Name | Team | Height | Weight | Date Debuted | Opponent | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
| Justin Brownlee | Barangay Ginebra San Miguel | 6'7 | 220 lbs | April 1, 2017 | PHOENIX | 12 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Greg Smith | Blackwater Elite | 6'10 | 250 lbs | March 18, 2017 | PHOENIX | 37 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| Keith Wright | Mahindra Floodbuster | 6'8 | 240 lbs | April 5, 2017 | STAR | 17 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 |
| Alex Stepheson | Meralco Bolts | 6'10 | 249 lbs | March 17, 2017 | MAHINDRA | 11 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| Wayne Chism | NLEX Road Warriors | 6'9 | 245 lbs | March 17, 2017 | RAIN OR SHINE | 27 | 21 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Shawn Taggart | Rain or Shine Elasto Painters | 6'11 | 226 lbs | March 17, 2017 | NLEX | 23 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 |
| Charles Rhodes | San Miguel Beermen | 6'8 | 240 lbs | April 2, 2017 | MERALCO | 22 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| Tony Mitchell | Star Hotshots | 6'8 | 245 lbs | March 22, 2017 | PHOENIX | 24 | 16 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| Donté Greene | Talk 'N Text KaTropa Texters | 6'9 | 220 lbs | March 31, 2017 | BLACKWATER | 22 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Cory Jefferson | Alaska Aces | 6'9 | 218 lbs | March 18, 2017 | GLOBALPORT | 28 | 14 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Sean Williams | GlobalPort Batang Pier | 6'10 | 235 lbs | March 18, 2017 | ALASKA | 18 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 |
| Jameel McKay | Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters | 6'9 | 212 lbs | March 22, 2017 | STAR | 34 | 20 | 2 | 4 | 2 | 1 |
Barangay Ginebra San Miguel – Justin Brownlee
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Height: 6’7 (2.01 m)
Weight: 220 lb (100 kg)
Age: 28
Nationality: United States
NBA Draft: 2011 / Undrafted
NBA Team:
Bio: Justin Brownlee doesn’t need any big introduction as he hit the biggest shot in the 2016 PBA Governor’s Cup Finals that gives Ginebra its first Championship after eight years of drought.
During the conclusion conference of PBA, Brownlee averaged 28.6 points per game along with 11.2 boards.
Blackwater Elite Import – Greg Smith
cbssports
Height: 6’10 (2.08m)
Weight: 250 lb (113 kg)
Age: 26
Nationality: United States
NBA Draft: 2011 / Undrafted
NBA Team: Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves
Bio: Blackwater will be bringing in a solid Center who can also play at Power Forward this conference. It was earlier reported that Mac Belo will be joining Gilas Pilipinas and will be pulled out for the team preparation for international games. Smith will surely take care that slack.
Smith’s talent blossomed in the D-League where he received several awards during his rookie year. In 2012 season, he was named to the All-NBA D-League First Team, NBA D-League All-Rookie First Team and also named to the 2012 NBA D-League All-Star.
Mahindra Floodbuster Import – James White
foxsportsasia
Height: 6’8 (2.03 m)
Weight: 220 lb (100 kg)
Age: 23
Nationality: United States
NBA Draft: 2016 / Undrafted
NBA Team: None
Bio: For the first time in its existence in the PBA, Mahindra Enforcer (now Floodbuster) has seen daylight in the Playoffs. Apart from its hardworking players is of course their 2016 Governor’s Cup import lead them in the right path.
James White will be renewing his ties with Mahindra this 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup, a team that revamped its roster during the off-season. White will be tested against other imports whose height will be in the same bracket.
White averaged 24.31 points per game along with his 13.08 rebounds and 2.0 swats.
Meralco Bolts Import – Alex Stepheson
pbaonline
Height: 6’10 (2.08 m)
Weight: 249 lb (113 kg)
Age: 29
NBA Draft: 2011 / Undrafted
NBA Team: Dallas Mavericks, Memphis Grizzlies, Los Angeles Clippers
Nationality: United States
Bio: One of the career highlights of Alex Stephenson was with the Memphis Grizzlies back in March 14, 2016 where the team suffered numerous injuries. He logged a double-double performance against the Houston Rockets with 12 points and 15 rebounds in 25 minutes of playing time.
Stephenson was also a successful NBA D-Leaguer as he was named to the All-NBA D-League First Team and NBA D-League All-Star in 2016.
NLEX Road Warriors Import – Wayne Chism
court-side
Height: 6’9 (2.06 m)
Weight: 245 lb (111 kg)
Age: 29
Nationality: United States
NBA Draft: 2010 / Undrafted
NBA Team: New Jersey Nets and Sacramento Kings
Bio: The 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup Best Import is set to be back in the PBA and this time around will be reunited with coach Yeng Guiao but will play in different uniform.
Chism led Rain or Shine in 2015 PBA Commissioner’s Cup with 8-3 record tied with the Meralco Bolts in the top of the standings. The two teams eventually faced-off in the Finals and the trophy was won by the Meralco Bolts.
In 2016, he played with Rain or Shine Elasto Painters but got injured at the beginning of the conference and was replaced.
Rain or Shine Elasto Painters Import – Shawn Taggart
inquirer
Height: 6’9 (2.06 m)
Weight: 229 lb (104 kg)
Age: 31
Nationality: United States
NBA Draft: 2009 / Undrafted
NBA Team: Toronto Raptors
Bio: Formerly played with the GlobalPort Batang Pier last 2016 PBA Commissioner’s Cup where he played five games and averaged 34.4 points per game along with his 14.8 rebounds. Sadly, GlobalPort only recorded three wins and eight losses.
San Miguel Beermen Import – Charles Rhodes
spin.ph
Height: 6’8 (2.03 m)
Weight: 240lb (109 kg)
Age: 31
Nationality: United States
NBA Draft: 2008 / Undrafted
NBA Team: None
Bio: Looking on his picture flying on the social media right now, it seems that Rhodes is an energizer player. Look at that emotion which was perfectly captured by the camera.
With the 2017 PBA Philippine Cup Best Player of the Conference joins Gilas Pilipinas, June Mar Fajardo’s presence in the post will be filled by Rhodes. Coach Leo Austria’s system will still be in full throttle this 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Star Hotshots Import – Tony Mitchell
pinoyexchange
Height: 6’8 (2.03 m)
Weight: 235 lb (107 kg)
Age: 24
Nationality: United States
NBA Draft: 2013 / 2nd Round / Pick: 37th overall
NBA Team: Detroit Pistons and Phoenix Suns
Bio: During his collegiate freshmen season, he was named as the “Top 10 Freshmen in the Country” and third-best in “Under the Radar” player after he logged an average of 14.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per game.
There were only two freshmen players in the NCAA Division I to average double-doubles. It was Mitchell and soon became NBA first overall pick and All-Star Anthony Davis.
Talk ‘N Text (TNT) KaTropa Texters Import – Donté Greene
celticsblog
Height: 6’11 (2.11 m)
Weight: 226 lb (103 kg)
Age: 29
Nationality: United States
NBA Draft: 2008 / Round 1 / Pick: 28th overall
NBA Team: Sacramento Kings
Bio: Green once scored a total of 40 points in NBA Summer League while playing with the Houston Rockets after he got traded by the Memphis Grizzlies. He was also once a member of Team USA U18 and Team USA U19 which gave him a Gold and Silver respectively.
Donté Greene got a total of 253 official games experience under his belt. His career average with the Sacramento Kings was 6.1 points and 2.4 rebounds during the span of four seasons.
Alaska Aces Import – Cory Jefferson
Height: 6’9 (2.06 m)
Weight: 218 lb (99 kg)
Age: 26
Nationality: United States
NBA Draft: 2014 / Round 2 / 60th Overall
NBA Team: Brooklyn Nets and Phoenix Suns
Bio: When it comes to rookie scouting, the San Antonio Spurs is one of the best ball-clubs in the NBA. Names like Manu Ginobili, Luis Scola, Goran Dragic and others are among the second rounder draft picks selected by the Spurs. In 2014, they used their last pick to take Cory Jefferson, a standout from Baylor.
He spent his rookie season with the Brooklyn Nets where he dropped 12 points and 13 rebounds in just 15 minutes of action. He also played with the Phoenix Suns after he was able to impress former Suns coach, Jeff Hornacek.
GlobalPort Batang Pier Import – Sean Williams
court-side
Height: 6’10 (2.08 m)
Weight: 235 lb (107 kg)
Age: 30
Nationality: United States
NBA Draft: 2007 | Round 1 | 17th Overall
NBA Team: New Jersey Nets, Dallas Mavericks and Boston Celtics
Bio: Selected at 17th overall during the 2007 NBA Draft, Williams currently is the top import if we consider that information as our basis of ranking. Other foreign players this conference are either undrafted or picked later in the second round.
Sean Williams’ specialty is playing under the rim and more of a defender rather than a scorer. During his collegiate days in Boston, some of his basketball games were dubbed as the “Sean Williams Block Party”.
Looking at the stats data of Batang Pier, their import shouldn’t be a high volume scorer since they already have Terrence Romeo and Stanley Pringle doing the slashing damage for the opposing teams. Williams will be a perfect fit for GlobalPort.
Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters Import – Jameel McKay
dudesonsports
Height: 6’9 (2.06 m)
Weight: 212 lb (96 kg)
Age: 24
Nationality: United States
NBA Draft: 2016 / Undrafted
NBA Team: None
Bio: One of the young imports in the current 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup. Phoenix’s head coach envisioned Mckay as a combination of Rossel Ellis and Rob Dozier.
He was advertised as more of a defender, however, the 24-years-old said that he can also be a scorer.
Alaska Aces Import – Octavius Ellis (released by team)
Height: 6’10 (2.08 m)
Weight: 226 lb (103 kg)
Age: 24
Nationality: United States
NBA Draft: 2016 / Undrafted
NBA Team: None
Bio: If you are a true and not a bandwagoner fan of the Golden State Warriors then you should now the high-octane scorer named Monta Ellis. His cousin, Octavius Ellis will be wearing an Alaska Aces jersey this 2017 PBA Commissioner’s Cup.
Unlike Monta, Octavius is a beast inside the paint. He averaged 14.9 points, 9.7 rebounds and an impressive 3.2 swats per game during his collegiate career.
Update: Ellis was dropped by Alaska after the team announced him that he needs to go back to US due to an “urgent family matters”.
Talk ‘N Text (TNT) KaTropa Texters Import – Denzel Bowles (released by team)
manetwork
Height: 6’10 (2.08 m)
Weight: 225 lb (116 kg)
Age: 27
Nationality: United States
NBA Draft: 2011 / Undrafted
NBA Team: None
Bio: Denzel Bowles is not new in PBA as he was already seen in action even way back in 2012 PBA Commissioner’s Cup. Most of his PBA career was with the Purefoods franchise.
He started with B-Meg Llamados in 2012, San Mig Coffee Mixers in 2013, Purefoods-Star Hotshots in 2015 and 2016.
Update: Bowles was dropped by Talk ‘N Text after the team announced him that “he’s not fit”.
Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters Import – Eugene Phelps (Temporary)
inquirer
Height: 6’6 (1.98 m)
Weight: 225 lb (102 kg)
Age: 30
Nationality: United States
NBA Draft: 2010 Undrafted
NBA Team: None
Bio: Eugene Phelps will serve as an interim import for Phoenix Petroleum Fuel Masters as the team still negotiating for their permanent foreign player that will help them for their second conference campaign.
Phelps was instrumental in Phoenix’s 2016 Governor’s Cup bid where he led the franchise to its first ever playoff appearance. He averaged a monstrous 36.4 points and 19.5 rebounds per game during the season-ending conference.
Update: Phelps already left the team to play overseas.
Talk ‘N Text (TNT) KaTropa Texters Import – Lou Amundson (released by Team)
alchetron
Height: 6’9 (2.06 m)
Weight: 220 lb (100 kg)
Age: 34
Nationality: United States
NBA Draft: 2006 / Undrafted
NBA Team: Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Indiana Pacers, Minnesota Timberwolves, Chicago Bulls, New Orleans Hornets, Los Angeles Clippers, New Orlean Pelicans, Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks.
Bio: Among the current imports in this year’s Commissioner’s Cup, Amundson is the most seasoned NBA player. Although he was not picked during the 2006 NBA Draft, Amundson still able to stay in big league for 10 years proving that his contribution is well appreciated.
He is an energy-booster type of player and more of an inside operator. Amundson is also one of the pioneers of bringing the “male bun hairstyle” in the league, however PBA fans will be missing that as the former Knickerbockers is now sporting a different looks.